POLISH CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL @ TUMBALONG PARK

Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour, as well as its surrounds, has been refurbished. Gone is the moat and nearby fountains. However, it now appears to have a slightly concave shape which means it is likely to have better drainage than previously. It has a brand new and larger stage which now faces north rather than west.

One of the first uses of this revamped park is the staging of the Polish Christmas Festival. The area was a sea of red and white with visitors either carrying the flag or dressed in the national colours. There were posters celebrating their national hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko after whom our highest peak was named by its first conqueror Count Strezlecki. Next year there will be commemorations held by the Polish community acknowledging the year of this death, two hundred years ago.

There was folk dancing and folk musicians, the later tapping a deep well of nostalgia with many in the crowd singing happily along.

Tumbalong Park was ringed with food, gift and travel stalls who all seemed to be doing a brisk trade on a glorious sunny afternoon.